Good, Straightforward Food For Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

To those Table Talkers who wonder why I did not include Sande`s in my summary on budget-pleasing lunching and munching places in South Palm Beach County, I have a quick answer.

Sande`s in Delray Beach is good enough to rate its own column. And to have that column headed by three stars.

How can I give three stars to a simple little feedery with dreams of being a diner? It`s easy as long as those three stars continue to mean ``Good.``

Among pocketbook-pleasing restaurants, Sande`s is special -- whether one digs into a breakfast stack of blueberry, chocolate chip or walnut hotcakes ($2.95); French toast with bacon, ham or sausage ($3.25); corned beef hash with eggs and toast ($3.10); or one of the many omelets priced from $1.85 to $3.85. My favorite omelet, by the way, is the farm style special, built around eggs and onions, cheese and chunks of potatoes.

The real budget stretchers are available from 6:30 to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday: three eggs with home fries or grits and toast for $1.89, and those with additions of bacon, ham or sausage for $3.29.

Then there`s the mini-breakfasts served daily until 11 a.m., a quartet of $1.69 specials that feature one egg, bacon, toast or hotcakes and bacon; French toast and bacon or orange juice and English muffin; and all kinds of a la carte add-ons, including homemade muffins.

Another early morning favorite of mine from the breakfast side of the menu, subtitled ``Extensive But Not Expensive,`` is the super-generous portion of sausage gravy slathered over those homemade biscuits. Served with two eggs, it`s $2.29.

At noontime, during the week, I usually start with some of the homemade soups, different each day, but not brewed on Sundays. Then I order the $3.60 turkey pot pie, a barbecue beef or one of the other sandwiches. Those range from $1.60 for grilled cheese and $1.75 for two fried eggs, all the way up to $3.50 for roast beef. There are 15 to choose from.

Two weeks ago, three of us made a Sunday stop at Sande`s, arriving in time for a late lunch, or maybe an early dinner because we could order from the regular dinner menu. The dinner list displays another outstanding instance of budget-stretching. Its 17 entrees are pegged from $4.75 for the turkey pot pie dinner to $7.95 for a roast pork loin served with mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw or salad, dinner rolls and butter. At the same price are pork chops with the same fixings.

We ordered a ham steak dinner with similar platemates for $5.50. The ham was excellent, definitely on the Southern salty side and served with french fries, selected instead of the mashed potatoes.

When the waitress asked if we wanted gravy with the fries, we did a double take. Gravy over french fries? The ham steak orderer gave an instant, shocked reply of ``Never!`` but the waitress convinced him to have some gravy on the side.

When the waitress removed his plates, there were no fries left. And not a drop of brown gravy.

One of us also ordered $6.50 chicken breasts, served with mashed potatoes and more of the same kind of gravy and a fine little dinner salad. The pieces of meat were definitely on the small side, but the flavor and texture were fine.

We also gave an enthusiastic nod to our third entree, ``Jim`s Special.`` Jim is for Jim Strong; he and Sande Strong are the owners.

This dish is a conglomerate for $3.25 (served with french fries for $3.45). Ham and Swiss cheese, tomato and lettuce are layered into a roll the menu refers to as Grecian for some reason, and then grilled with a cheesy-mayo sauce that gives the whole a a unifying flavor.

I would surely order that again, or consider most seriously the $4.25 tuna melt on rye with grilled onions and Swiss cheese, also served with french fries. Either that or the Philly cheesesteak, which several sources, who consider themselves experts on the subject, report to be the real thing.

The setting at Sande`s is as straightforward and solid as the food. For what it is and what it represents, Sande`s is definitely three-star.